Readers respond to call to keep private industry out of prisoner reforms.

The private prison industry exists to net profits, so it’s unsurprising they’re evolving to exploit any new profit sources from our criminal justice system, as noted in USA TODAY's column, “Keep private industry out of prisoner reform." But another profit source has this industry licking its chops: immigrant detention. During the 2016 fiscal year, almost three-quarters of detainees were in facilities run by private companies.

This industry spends millions every year lobbying to win contracts and grow the immigrant detention population and their profit margins. In 2015, the two largest corporations CoreCivic (formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America) and GEO received $765 million for immigration detention. Eight people died in custody of privately run detention centers in 2016.

It could get worse. Last week, it was revealed the new administration’s transition team asked the Department of Homeland Security officials about capacity to increase immigrant detention. With the wind in this industry’s sails, we need to fight for immigration policies shaped by and for the people, not the profits of the private prison industry.

Think about it for a minute, for-profit prisons. They don't want crime to go down. The more prisoners, and the longer those prisoners are kept there, the more money they make. And they have lobbyists! They can, and do, influence our lawmakers for profit!

— Bryan Wright

How about we pay for-profit prisons no more than the federal poverty level to house prisoners? We are endlessly looking for ways to discourage criminals from committing crimes, how about we start thinking of ways to discourage people from profiting off of crime?

— Bob Smith

Why should we keep private industry out of government run institutions? Show me even one instance where government has successfully run anything! Privatize as much of government as possible and let the employees actually have to start working for a living.